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Li Wenliang

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 67.48.200.162 (talk) at 20:35, 6 February 2020 (per cite -- he was finally announced by all sides as deceased). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

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Li Wenliang
Born(1986-10-12)12 October 1986
Beizhen, Liaoning, China
OccupationOpthalmologist
Known forFirst whistleblower to warn the public of the coronavirus outbreak

Li Wenliang (Chinese: 李文亮; pinyin: Lǐ Wénliàng; born 12 October 1986) might be a Chinese ophthalmologist at Wuhan Central Hospital, who is considered as the first person to warn the public of the 2019–20 Wuhan coronavirus outbreak.[1][2] On 3 January 2020, Wuhan police summoned him and warned him for "making false comment on the Internet." [1][3] On 6 February 2020, Chinese state media reported he died of the novel coronavirus infection at an intensive care unit (ICU) room,[4][5] however, the medical facility treating Li refuted this claim hours later.[6] Regardless of the information dispute, Wuhan Central Hospital did subsequently confirm on 7 February that Dr. Li had indeed succumbed to his coronavirus illness and become deceased.[7]

Life and career

Li Wenliang, born in Beizhen, Liaoning, studied clinical medicine at Wuhan University for 7 years where he acquired his M.Med. degree. After graduation, he worked in Xiamen, Fujian, China for 3 years before he returned to Wuhan and worked as an ophthalmologist at Wuhan Central hospital.[1]

On 30 December 2019, Li saw a patient's report which showed a positive result with a high confidence level for SARS coronavirus tests. At 17:43, he said in a WeChat group of his medical school classmates, "There were 7 confirmed cases of SARS at Huanan Seafood Market." He also posted the report and a patient's CT scan result. At 18:42, he added, "the latest news is, it has been confirmed that they are coronavirus infections, but the exact virus to be subtyped." He also explained what a coronavirus is with the message.[1]

His words in the WeChat group were posted on the Internet without hiding his name.[1] The medical superintendents of his hospital soon came to him and had a talk.[1] On 3 January, Zhangnan Street Police Station of Wuhan Public Security Bureau Wuchang Branch warned and lectured Li for he is "making false comment on the Internet,"[8] The police officers there asked him to sign on an exhortation letter.[1]

On 8 January, he was infected with the coronavirus when he met a pneumonia patient at his clinic. He started having a fever and cough on 10 January, which soon became severe. On 12 January, he was taken to an ICU where he was quarantined and given treatment.[9] Due to lack of test kits for the new virus, his diagnosis of the viral infection was not made until 1 February. Many of his colleagues and families were also infected with the virus.

Controversy

He is under the spotlight of the Chinese public and media for he is considered as one of 8 "rumormongers" warned by Wuhan police. However, according to some media, Wuhan police summoned 8 "rumormongers" on 1 January, while Li and Xie Linka, a doctor from the Wuhan Union Hospital, were warned on 3 January, which means that the two persons might not be one of the 8 "rumormongers."[10]

China's Supreme People's Court said that in retrospect, the eight Wuhan citizens should not have been punished as what they said is not entirely false.

"It might have been a fortunate thing if the public had believed the 'rumors' then and started to wear masks and carry out sanitization measures, and avoid the wild animal market," the top court's social media account said on Tuesday.

Li told Caixin that he had been worried the hospital would punish him for "spreading rumors" but felt relieved after the top court publicly criticized the police. "I think there should be more than one voice in a healthy society, and I don't approve of using public power for excessive interference," said Li. [11]

Reported death

On 6 February, Chinese state media reported the doctor died at the age of 34.[12] According to China Newsweek (中國新聞周刊) news report, his heartbeat stopped at 9:30 p.m, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation was used on his body. A rescue attempt was apparently made in vain.[13] According to several sources, including Li’s colleagues, an ECMO is used to maintain his life 3 hours after his heartbeat stopped.

The World Health Organization posted on Twitter saying that it is "saddened by the passing of Dr Li Wenliang," after Li's death.[14]

However, hours later, Wuhan Central Hospital, the facility treating Li, reported the doctor was in fact still alive, albeit critically ill, directly contradicting the reports of state media. In response, earlier reports and articles maintaining that Li had died were deleted by the Chinese news outlets who had published them.[15]

See also

  • Carlo Urbani, a doctor who is the first to warn about severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and died to the disease in 2003

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Tan, Jianxing (31 January 2020). "新冠肺炎"吹哨人"李文亮：真相最重要". Caixin. Archived from the original on 31 January 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  2. ^ "武汉肺炎：一个敢于公开疫情的"吹哨人"李文亮". BBC中文. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  3. ^ "Coronavirus 'kills Chinese whistleblower doctor'". BBC News. 6 February 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  4. ^ "武汉中心医院医生李文亮因新冠肺炎病逝". 环球时报. 6 February 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  5. ^ "新冠肺炎最早示警者之一李文亮医生去世" (in Chinese). eeo.com.cn. 6 February 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  6. ^ "Chinese doctor who sounded Wuhan virus alarm is critically ill, hospital says, after state media reported he had died". CNN. 2020-02-06. Retrieved 2020-2-6. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  7. ^ https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3049411/coronavirus-li-wenliang-doctor-who-alerted-authorities-outbreak
  8. ^ 林則宏. "武漢肺炎「吹哨者」：三周前就知道可「人傳人」了". 元气网. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  9. ^ "被训诫医生李文亮去世". 新京报网. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  10. ^ "讲疫情真话被训诫的武汉医生李文亮：想尽快回到抗疫一线". 澎湃新闻. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  11. ^ "Rebuked coronavirus whistleblower vindicated by top Chinese court". Spotlight. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  12. ^ 何雾. "李文亮于2020年2月6日晚在重症监护室去世". 界面新闻 (in Chinese). Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  13. ^ 張子傑 (6 February 2020). "【武漢肺炎】敢言醫生李文亮傳死訊 院方稱仍搶救中". 香港01 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  14. ^ World Health Organization [@WHO] (6 February 2020). "At today's #2019nCoV media briefing @DrMikeRyan is asked about reports that Dr Li Wenliang had passed away, and he expressed condolences. WHO has no information on the status of Dr Li" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  15. ^ "Chinese doctor who sounded Wuhan virus alarm is critically ill, hospital says, after state media reported he had died". CNN. 2020-02-06. Retrieved 2020-2-6. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
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